A technique of re-forestation; used particularly in northern climates such as in Scandinavia and Canada, entails placing an open-topped shelter cone of translucent, sunlight-degradable, frangible plastic onto the soil surface with a seed or seeds planted within. The advantages of the cone, such as its low cost and local climate modifying features for optimal seed germination and growth, are well known and described. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,992, issued to H. Heffron, or a currently available commercial cone marketed under the trade mark CERKON by CERBO of Trollhattan, Sweden.
The CERKON plastic cone is typically placed on a prepared area of soil and restrained against movement by weighting the cone base flange with soil. The cone is in a open-topped frustum form, providing an upper vent opening through which seeds may be deposited. A counted number of seeds are dropped through the hole, falling to the soil surface below.
The field counting and application of a correct number of seeds into the cone are inconsistent at best. Seeding tools are used which can apply too few seeds, too many, or can damage the seed. A Technical Note publication from the Northwestern Ontario Forest Technology Development Unit, TN-01, 1989, titled Shelter Seeding Black Spruce and Jack Pine in Northwestern Ontario, by B. Campbell and W. D. Baker, extols the advantages of using plastic seed shelter cones, yet cautions:
The seeding tools are notorious for depositing too much seed, especially when seeding black spruce; PA1 Keep extra seeding tools on hand, as many models are not durable; PA1 Check to make sure that the seed is placed within the cone. In the case of black spruce, carpenter chalk may be added to improve visibility, although it can sometimes clog the seeding tools; and PA1 Some seeding tools tend to plug up in rainy weather.
With this background in mind, it is an object of this invention to improve on the plastic shelter cone, to eliminate the need for separate seeding tools in the field.